Tuning a EuroReef Rs-100

[FinalPhaze987]

I am currently using a EuroReef RS-100...my question is, how should i tune it?

it has a pipe to adjust the water level in the reaction chamber along with a valve to control the amount of air flow..

.the instructions say to keep the water level in the skimmer 2'' from the top of the neck but it does not say the water to air ratio that should be implied...

anyone have any experience with this? any help is appreciated...thx

 

[ChrisRD]

It's somewhat of a preference thing. The higher you run the water line the wetter the skimmate will be. I prefer to run the water/bubble line around where the union is so that any accumulation of crud on the inside of the neck will be above the union and will get removed when I clean the collection cup.

As for air/water ratio, the older Euro-Reefs had no way of controlling the air - just water level. Unless the new models come equipped with an air valve, you shouldn't have to worry about this.

Does that help?

 

[FinalPhaze987]

It's somewhat of a preference thing. The higher you run the water line the wetter the skimmate will be.

Does that help?

Thats EXACTLY what i was looking for....i had it tuned where it would pull out thick, dark skimmate, but woud only fill half of a 2 liter bottle in a week...i thought this might not be skimming enough so adjusted it..

after adjusting it pulled out a full 2 liter bottles worth in a week but it was way lighter and thinner...i wasnt sure which to go with...

Thanks for the help Chris....

 

[ChrisRD]

I prefer skimming on the wetter side because I feel it pulls a bit more waste from the water column and the neck of the skimmer doesn't get as gunked-up (which IMO negatively effects performance).

 

[DaFrog]

I have a EuroReef RS-80 and I prefer skimming on the dry side so that i do not have to empty the skimmate reservoir every time a fish goes to the bathroom...
I am pretty sure the wet vs. dry subject has been explored a few times... Would it be worth a poll?

 

[ChrisRD]

Yup, topic has definitely been discussed/polled here in the past:

Wet Skim versus Dry Skim?

POLL: How do you skim?

Randy Holmes-Farley also did an article on skimming where he discusses wet vs. dry skimming:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2006-08/rhf/index.php

IME a clean skimmer works best so, personally, I end-up cleaning the cup/neck frequently regardless of skimming wet or dry.

HTH

 

[FinalPhaze987]

looks like most people go wet...it makes sense...emptying a cup once a day wouldnt be so bad i guess...have you heard any ill effects on trace element balance?

 

[ChrisRD]

With all of the awesome tanks out there that have super powerful skimmers on them, IMO there's loads of empirical evidence that it's not an issue, but Randy gives a more in-depth explanation in the article linked above. Basically, most of the inorganic stuff is relatively uneffected unless it somehow binds to something that the skimmer does remove.

From the article:
Many of the ions that aquarists are most concerned with are not appreciably impacted by skimming because they do not adsorb onto an air water interface, and are not primarily bound to organics. These include calcium, magnesium, strontium, bicarbonate and carbonate (alkalinity) and silicate. In addition, none of the other major seawater ions will be impacted by skimming, including chloride, sodium, sulfate, fluoride, bromide (except as organobromine compounds), borate and potassium.

 

[baxters80]

I am also using a RS 100. My question is do you have the output of the skimmer above the water line in the sump? The instructions say to do so, however, if this is the case I would only be using about half of the capacity of my sump.

 

[FinalPhaze987]

I am also using a RS 100. My question is do you have the output of the skimmer above the water line in the sump? The instructions say to do so, however, if this is the case I would only be using about half of the capacity of my sump.

i bent the elbow so it faces down and the water line is about an inch above the opening....i had to put my skimmer on a small stand inside the sump to keep that 8 inch water height in the skimmer...

 

[baxters80]

I actually called Euro Reef this afternoon and they suggested the same thing. I got rid of a Coralife 125 and replaced it with the RS 100. I had to do the same thing with that skimmer. It appears that Euro Reef is just as temperamental